‘Guide to life’ says people should leave home at 21 and be on the property ladder at 27

Published:06:00Monday 04 September 2017

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Experts have revealed the ultimate guide to life - including owning our first car at 21, leaving home at the same age and getting onto the property ladder at 27.

Researchers who polled 2,000 adults of all ages also found we should reasonably expect to have had two long term relationships before settling down at 23 - and become parents by 27.

Worryingly, the study found the majority of the population are either behind in terms of their planned schedule, or are earning less money than they thought they would.

Shakila Hashmi, Head of Money for comparethemarket.com, which carried out the study, said: ‘’If our findings are anything to go by, the British public clearly wants to have it all by the time they hit 30 years old.

“And it appears most achieve it with things like meeting ‘the one’ or buying a home.

“However, when it comes to money, the findings are a little more concerning.

“Whether it’s because we aim too high, or simply underestimate the cost of big-ticket expenses, these findings highlight just how many of us are missing the targets we set for ourselves when it comes to money.”

LIfe-defining relationships

The study by OnePoll found many Brits would have expected to be in the long-term relationship that would define their life by the age of 23, although most weren’t married until 26.

And they usually expect to go through two long term relationships before finding ‘the one’.

Home ownership may be more difficult for younger generations than it has been in the past, but most Brits expected to own their first property by the age of 27 - and achieved just that.

And in fact, new homeowners expected to borrow £106,000 to get on the property ladder, significantly under the average first time mortgage of £133,000.

Brits have constantly earned less than they would have expected to throughout their lives - although those aged between 30-39 years old expected to earn £28,000 by the time they were 30.

However, the majority admitted they actually earned an average of just over £24,500 by that age.

Great expectations

Likewise, those aged between 40-49 years old expected to earn just over £29,000 by the time they were 40 when, in reality, they earned just under £24,800 per year.

Similarly, Brits were worryingly off the mark when it comes to the cost of running a car.

Although the car-owners polled expected to spend a total of £950 a year to cover related expenses (i.e. petrol, MOT, car insurance, maintenance), they admitted to actually spending over £1,500 a year on average.

Shakila Hashmi said: “What’s worrying, for example, is that the majority of consumers are still off the mark when it comes to considering costs like running a car.

“Especially in light of recent comments made by the Bank of England that consumers are becoming ‘dangerously complacent’ when it comes to mounting debt.

“There are numerous ways in which Brits should therefore aim to be as savvy as they can when it comes to keeping down everyday costs, like simply shopping around for the best deals.”

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